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Editorial

State rule reviews are a safeguard

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Tuesday November 19, 2013 5:40 AM

Ohio’s Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review doesn’t typically get a lot of attention, but it
does important and far-reaching work: approving or rejecting the rules and regulations that give
shape to new laws.

So forgive the panel’s chairman, Republican Rep. Ross McGregor of Springfield, for indulging in
a useful bit of drama last week.

He’s sick of state agencies shirking their statutory responsibility to review rules every five
years and submit reports to the committee, so he engineered a pointed reminder: He summoned agency
officials to explain to the panel why they haven’t submitted those mandatory reviews on time.

Some have missed the deadline by more than a decade. To sharpen the point, McGregor reminded the
tardy officials that his committee has the authority to invalidate — simply strike from the books —
any rule that has gone unreviewed for more than five years.

Agency officials responsible for those rules had to go up, before an atypically jam-packed
hearing room, and explain why they were years late on their rule reviews.

Not many had good reasons.

Reviewing rules might sound bureaucratic, but it actually is a defense against unnecessary red
tape.

The 5-year-review requirement is in place because, as time passes and circumstances change, a
rule that seemed sensible upon its passage may become obsolete. Regular review can clear the books
of rules that no longer make sense, and can allow tweaks that help a law remain effective.

Commendably, McGregor stressed that he doesn’t intend for the committee to invalidate rules
willy-nilly, acknowledging that such a move could be “careless.” Among the 15,000 or so rules on
the books are those dealing with how residents of facilities for the developmentally disabled can
be treated, hunting and trapping regulations, equal-employment opportunities and requirements for a
loan officer’s license.

Said Larry Wolpert, the committee’s executive director and a former state representative, “They
can impact everyone’s business, home and personal life. They need to be looked at every five years
to see if they’re outdated.”

About 2,400 of those rules have gone beyond five years with no review.

Last week's episode is a reminder of the little-known but important role the committee plays in
Ohio life, even when not putting the squeeze on agencies to follow the law. Only a small portion of
the population — the type who watch C-SPAN or make their living as lobbyists — pays much attention
to the rules that pass before the committee, most of which are approved.

But, when a law is passed, the rule-making often is where the rubber hits the road. Rules that
can affect all Ohioans’ lives are passed every day with few people aware.

It’s the same on the federal level.

So tardy state agencies should heed McGregor’s Bucket of Invalidation and keep those rules up to
date, as the law requires.